Chapter 6 -
Communities are
complicated systems that are made up of many smaller micro systems and without them
the larger community would not function.
In order to facilitate change in a community one needs to understand how
each micro system within the community functions, how they impact each of the
other parts of the community and how the micro systems coalesce to make up the
framework of the larger community.
As social workers, we will use a variety of assessment tools to gather
information for our evaluation of the framework and the structure of a
community. In gathering
information about a community it is best to personally immerse yourself in the
environment to observe firsthand how the individual functions in the community.
It is important to understand the community’s larger historical context and
major historical events and milestones.
Finally, it is imperative to understand that communities are living
organisms that are continuously changing.
There are three
tasks that will help gather the critical information necessary to evaluate a
community (see table 6.1).
1. Focus on the target populations; the
people in the community you are trying to help. Gathering data about the
community will give you a deeper understanding of the target population and the
full extent of their needs. A good
question to ask is “What population is in the most need or being the most
oppressed and why?” Once the
target population has been accurately identified, the demographics, the
psychology, and the resources of the group must be determined. Specifically, how many people make up
the target population, how do they view themselves, how does the community view
them and how much of the community’s time and assets are spent on the target
population. Lastly what are their needs, how does the community view those
needs (important/not important), and how are those needs being addressed within
in the community. This can be done
through community meetings, individual interviews, analyzing data, and the review
of data previously collected.
2. Determine
community characteristics “boundaries; strengths, issues, and social problems;
and values” (pg. 182).
Some good questions to ask are “What is the size of the area being
included (i.e. city, neighborhood, block)?”, “What are the community’s strengths,
major issues, and social problems?”, “What are the dominant values (traditions,
beliefs)?”, and “Where is the oppression and discrimination occurring?”
3. Identify the community’s
hierarchy, who runs the community? Who controls the money, who controls the access
to resources, and how easily are those resources accessed by the target
population? What kinds of resources are available (ex. TANF, OAA funding,
education)?
To fit all the
pieces together and effectively help the target population we must understand
how each piece communicates, cooperates, coordinates, and collaborates with the
other pieces within the community.
As social workers, we need to be able to look at and study a particular community
and gather data about their strengths, problems, needs and resources so that we
can properly affect, influence and facilitate changes that will help the target
population.
This seems to be what Holly has been saying all semester and what we have been gathering to put into our assignment that is due today before 4:00. Yikes! Gotta go.
ReplyDeleteKara,
ReplyDeleteYour post regarding #1 got me thinking. In the book it says in addition to assessing how a community is viewed, we need to ask those in the community how they view themselves. This is extremely important and I think people forget about this piece. As social workers, I think we need to be aware that some of our clients do not view themselves in a positive way. I would go as far to say many of our clients do not feel worthy of any type of change. I liked how the book addressed this in a backwards way.
Kara, I agree with you and how we need to actually go into the community and speak with the residents versus assume they are a certain way, just like Father Gary told us. Also, we need to steer away from preconceived notations about out clients. Kathryn you are right about the clients who view themselves negatively because a lot of them have these generational curses and feel like they will never be anything or like they are products of their environment. Our job is to help our clients in all aspects.
ReplyDeleteKate, you bring up a really great point that I never thought about. It is very important to know how someone views themeseleves because that view could greatly impact the community and how the community views its self.
ReplyDeleteMary, lol this chapter covers basically every important aspect of this class and getting to know your community and the members of that community, in order to help facilitate change. It also helps us determine what the major issue is within the community, by gathering data and perspectives through interviews with residence and other members of the community.
ReplyDeleteI liked this chapter because it helped me realize that a social worker working within a community (mezzo level sw) and a social worker working with individuals (micro level sw) are not all that different. They both need to know all of the same important factors in order to successful influence and facilitate a positive in the community or for an individual client. Before this class I had never thought of the idea of worker as a social worker to improve a community, but now I can honestly say if given the opportunity I would be open to the experience.